The Decent One
by Tie-dyed-julia
Summary: Reagan Hammond is an orphaned half-blood living with his Aunt, Uncle and twin cousins Shea and Siobhan. With the two of them already having their status established by their 3rd year, will Reagan be seen as 'just another Hammond', or will he be able to pave his own path and make friends just as well as his family before him? OC-centered story, let me know what could be improved!
1. The Platform

The other day, I was just struck with the sudden urge to write something Harry Potter, but kind of apprehensive to writing about the main three (no idea what I could've plotted), so I opted instead to write about some of my original characters, The Hammond family, as I could see them being a Wizarding family. I will include characters from the book who are either attending or teaching at Hogwarts at the time that Reagan is attending, but others... well, we'll see.

* * *

"So, what House d'you think you'll end up in, Ray?" A girl asked a younger boy as she walked with him, her father, and her twin, tight red curls bouncing as she strode along King's Cross Station, pushing a trolley with a curious assortment of items.

The younger boy shrugged. He was 11 years old, and on his birthday that recently passed, he received a letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry saying that he was eligible to start his First year at the start of term, September 1st, which was the day the family got to King's Cross Station, after spending the week before in London, to buy their school supplies.

"M'not too sure, I don't think I'm smart enough to be in Ravenclaw with you," He said to the girl, glancing over to her for a moment before concentrating on steering his own trolley straight. "But I hope I at least get into Gryffindor with Shea."

A nasty smirk showed on the other boy's face, and then he looked down to the smaller boy. "Aw, shucks, Ray, it almost sounds like you're sayin' you'd rather be with me than Siobhan, how _mean _of you to say it right to her face." He put on a look of disappointment and shook his head. "I'm _very _disappointed in you, laddy."

The younger boy squirmed a little under the look his cousin gave him. He didn't _mean _to disappoint anyone. In fact, that might've been one of his biggest fears, he'd never in a million years want to let down the family that took him in when no other family wanted to.

"Seamus, quit picking on your cousin," The red-headed boy's father said sternly, then clapping his nephew on his shoulder and giving him a reassuring smile, sensing the boy's unease. "Wherever you end up is where you're meant to be, and that's alright, Reagan."

The younger boy looked up to his uncle and smiled back at him. "Thank you, Uncle Neil."

"Oh, here it is!" The red-haired girl at the front of the pack called over her shoulder. She'd found their platform. Or rather, found the space between two _other _platforms, from the look of it. "Platform 9 and 3/4ths. This platform still gives me the heeby-jeebies..." Siobhan said with a shudder. "Always think I'm going to smack head first into it. Expect if anyone was watching they'd think that as well."

"Eh, nuts to what they think," Shea said, carefully avoiding cursing around his father. "_I_ think it's brilliant."

"'Right then, both of you go through, show Reagan how it's done." Neil said, gesturing to the brick wall the were standing by. Reagan didn't know exactly why they'd have to 'show him how it was done', he'd seen them do it already. Siobhan and Shea were both in their 3rd year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, after all, and the journey onto the platform was an annual one since they both started.

Siobhan went first, trying to make it look to any passersby (if they actually watched) as casual as possible; simply leaning against the wall with her trolley, before both her and the trolley fell through the mock facade. Her twin, however, opted instead to push his own trolley at full-speed, then ride through the wall on the bottom bars.

Neil heaved a sigh. "That's going to be a mess, I think. You can go at a run, Reagan, but don't try to ride though. It always ends in disaster," He said, smiling in spite of himself, remembering his own trolley-ride disaster from his first trip to Hogwarts.

Reagan stared at the wall in front of him now, and took a deep breath and exhaled to try and keep the mounting nerves at bay. He _just _saw his cousins vanish through the wall, why was he worried? Perhaps it wasn't the wall he was worried about, but everything beyond it. All the same, Reagan closed his eyes and ran through the wall.

* * *

The view of Platform 9 and 3/4ths was amazing once he opened his eyes. The Hogwarts Express was a bright scarlet color, standing clean and shiny as it rumbled, with smoke billowing from the stacks as students prepared to board.

Young wizards and their families were all around the platform, chattering excitedly or having their teary good-byes, smothering their children with hugs and kisses, or asking them whether they remembered to pack everything before they came and reminding them _'you wouldn't want an owl to come with a package containing underwear because you forgot to pack yours.'_

Reagan was distracted suddenly from the scene when he heard his cousin's shrill voice, looking very cross as she picked up the luggage that had been knocked over by Shea running into her accidentally with his trolley, scattering his things as well. "Ugh, you just _had _to do it, didn't you, Shea? Dad _warned you _about it _last year _but you still did it? _Wipe that look off your face!" _

Reagan went to help Siobhan pick up her things, if only to stop her tirade on her twin brother. "Here," He picked up a copy of _Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them._ "Is this yours?"

Siobhan shook her head. "No, it's Shea's. I have my books tucked away in my bag, wouldn't leave 'em out so they get all battered." She gave Shea a pointed look.

Shea rolled his eyes and took the book from Reagan. "You have your way of packing, I have mine. How 'bout you quit b-"

"If you know what's good for you, you won't finish that sentence." Neil said suddenly as he came through the wall. "Help your sister pick up."

Shea glared daggers at him for a few moments-not daring to say a thing-before stooping down to help pick up his sister's things as well as his own.

Neil looked down to his nephew with a smile, holding his arms out wide as an invitation for a hug; which Reagan gladly accepted with a smile of his own as he wrapped his arms around his uncle's waist.

"Make sure to write plenty, you hear? I want to hear all about your first day. I made sure to tell your cousins to hassle you if you don't write home," Neil said as he pulled away with a teasing grin, which Reagan mimicked.

"Alright, Uncle Neil, I promise to write as soon as I can," He replied.

The train's whistle pierced the sounds of the chattering crowd, signaling that it was time for everyone to wrap up their good-byes and hurry onto the train, which everyone did. Children pushed their trolleys nearby the train, started bringing all of their stuff in with the help of their families, and before too long the train was off, with parents waving the train off and calling out their good-byes again while the children waved through the windows before dispersing to find seats.

Reagan waved good-bye to his uncle one last time, with Siobhan and Shea also waving over his shoulders, before they both separated to find their peers, leaving Reagan to find his own crowd.


	2. The Train

As Shea darted off to find his fellow Gryffindor mates and Siobhan went to find the nice Hufflepuff boy she fancied so she could run into him 'accidentally', Reagan glumly slouched down the hall, trying to find a compartment that wasn't crammed tightly with students, or reserved for certain groups (He accidentally popped by the Prefects' Cabin for a moment. Whoops!).

At last, Reagan stopped at a compartment half-way down the train that only had one other student in it, blonde head buried in a book called _Quidditch Through The Ages_. "Err... excuse me? Can I come in?" Reagan asked, leaning against his luggage.

The blonde looked over to him, putting his bookmark in his book to keep his place, and giving him a warm smile. "Sure, go ahead. Need a hand with your luggage? Just hand the stuff over to me, I'll get it sorted out."

Reagan gave him a smile in return. "That'd be nice, thanks..." He said, then started handing over his things that he wanted up and out of the way.

"What's your name, by the way?" The blonde boy asked as he took one of Reagan's boxes.

"Oh... name's Reagan," He said, looking up to the boy who was now standing on the seat to stow Reagan's things on the bar overhead. "Reagan Hammond."

The blonde looked over at him, wide-eyed with eyebrows raised. "Really, so your the Hammond twins' brother? Didn't know they had one, just thought it was the two of 'em," He said, clearly having heard of Reagan's two cousins already. He was afraid of this. He didn't think he'd have to walk in his families footsteps _already._

"Err... no. Their cousin, actually. Their mum and dad took me in after me own mum passed," Reagan replied uncomfortably, taking his last bag and sitting down across from the blonde who just plopped down onto his seat.

The other boy's expression softened, now a look of pity. _Great, _Reagan thought. _Now he feels sorry. Just what I needed, a pity party. _"Gosh, I'm really sorry there, Ray!" The boy said, then added as an after-thought, "S'okay if I call you Ray, right?"

"Yeah, it's fine," Reagan replied. "Everyone calls me that anyway. … What's _your _name?" He added quickly, wanting to take the subject off his family situation.

"Oh, my name's Lukas! Lukas Gallagher! But you can call me Luke, if you want to!" The blonde said, beaming and sticking his hand out for Reagan to shake, which he did with a grin.

"Nice to meet you then, Luke," Reagan said, then letting go of the boy's hand.

"So what House do you think you'll end up in, Ray?" Lukas asked, crossing his legs on the seat. "Personally, I'm hoping for Gryffindor like my brother. He's a 6th year."

Reagan pondered for a few moments, scratching his head and then shrugging, "I'm not really sure," He said. "I don't see a problem with any of them, if I'm honest."

Lukas' eyebrows shot up again, "Really?!" He said. "Even Slytherin? They're usually pretty nasty, aren't they?"

Reagan shrugged again. "Jus' because people were bad in the past doesn't mean others will continue t'be in the future. Someone breaks the mold eventually."

Lukas lowered his eyebrows and furrowed them together in thought, "I guess that's true... never really thought of it that way before. Haven't really heard of a nice Slytherin, though."

"I'm sure they aren't _all _that bad if you give 'em a chance."

Lukas suddenly grinned and gave a snort. "You probably won't end up in Gryffindor, then, the two houses have a nasty rivalry. Probably have the worst rivalries as far as houses go."

Reagan's eyebrows went up. Sure, he knew the Quidditch teams of both the houses had a rivalry, but he didn't know it was a rivalry shared throughout the whole of the houses."Really, they do? Every one of the students?"

"Far as I know, yeah. Haven't really heard of any Gryffindors genuinely getting along with a Slytherin," Lukas scratched his head, thinking. "Of course, I think Professors McGonogall and Slughorn get on well enough, but they're _teachers, _y'know?"

Reagan nodded, then looked out the window at the scenery going by. It was starting to get distinctly less tidy as the train rolled by; the soft green hills they passed before were replaced with higher territory and untidy, rocky plains.

A silence fell between the two boys, and Lukas seemed to dislike it, as he started babbling breathlessly. "So! What are you most excited for at Hogwarts? I hear that the food there is supposed to be amazing! There's gonna be a feast right after the Sorting!"

"Oh, yeah, I heard about the feast... that should be pretty exciting, but I'm pretty excited to jus' get started learnin' magic."

"You mean you haven't learned anything yet?"

Reagan shook his head. "Not much, really. I live in a muggle community, Uncle Neil says it's not a very good idea to do magic in an area like that," He gave a small smile. "Me auntie gets pretty upset if Shea and Siobhan do magic around the house, I guess I'd see why, seein' as-"

Lukas interrupted so quickly it was almost like he'd explode if he didn't start talking again, "Really, a muggle community? What're muggles like, I haven't met any!"

Reagan was a little caught off-guard by the sudden interruption, but answered calmly anyway, "Well... as I was about to say, me auntie's a muggle. I say she's pretty nice, even if she is a bit strict. Most'a the people I've met are nice enough, even Shea's muggle friends are too. I haven't really seen enough wizards to tell you that muggles are better than wizards or the other way around, doesn't seem fair to judge a bunch of people if you don't know 'em. I'm a half-blood, myself, I think, so it'd be a little harsh of me to judge, either way."

"Wait, did you say _you think? _You don't know?"

Reagan flushed a little in embarrassment, he didn't mean to sound uncertain, but he never _did _know his father, and he had no clue if his brother knew anything about him either. Wherever _he _was. "Err... I … don't really know, no. Don' really know anythin' about me dad's side of the family, never thought to ask about 'im. Don't know if he's even alive."

"Shoot, I'm sorry about that, Ray!" Lukas said, shooting Reagan another sorry look, then noticing the train had come to a stop. "But hey, I think we've just pulled into the station just now!"

Reagan looked out the window, to see Lukas was right. They had just pulled into Hogsmeade station. Reagan realized how close to the castle they were and was now starting to feel slightly nauseous because of nerves. Lukas may have been a bit more inquisitive than Reagan liked, but talking with him at least kept him distracted from the feeling. He wondered if Lukas was feeling the same. "Hey Luke?" He asked.

"Yeah?" Lukas replied.

Reagan thought over what he'd say to him. _Hey Lukas, do you feel like you're gonna hurl, or is that just me? Oh? It is? Alright, then. See you at classes, I guess. _That wasn't exactly a good way to ask, but he couldn't think of anything else. "Err... _thanks. _Thanks for helping me out and talking to me, I was feeling really nervous."

Lukas suddenly grinned at him, "Do you feel like you're gonna hurl, too?"

Reagan looked slightly embarrassed, but was relieved that Lukas revealed before he did. "Yeah, I do." He said.

* * *

**A/N: I wasn't exactly sure how to run the end of the last chapter and the beginning of this one together so it didn't sound clunky, so in the end I decided that the two parts should be separate. I'm looking forward to doing the Sorting Ceremony, I already know where everyone's going to be placed. Just try to guess where Reagan's going to end up?**


	3. Welcome To Hogwarts

Reagan was about to get down his luggage, when he looked out and saw that none of the other kids were carrying theirs. "Shouldn't they-"

"Oh, no! Some witch said to leave the luggage on the train a few minutes ago, I think someone else is taking it up," Lukas said, trying to push his way into the crowd of first-years that were trying to get through the door and onto the platform.

Reagan was a little apprehensive, but went to go join Lukas in the crowd anyway. He evidently wasn't watching where he was going very well, because he accidentally crushed the foot of another first year who had been aggressively shoving through the crowd, trying to get to the front.

"Ouch! Watch where you step with those giant feet, dimwit!" The boy said as he turned his head to him, giving him a nasty scowl. The boy was pale, with green eyes that flashed with anger. He had brown hair in loose curls that bobbed as he swiveled his head to look at Reagan.

"Err... sorry, I didn't mean'ta, I was just tryin' to get into the hall to meet up with-" Reagan said, muttering to his shoes, avoiding the other boy's face.

"Yeah, that's right, you _better _be sorry," The boy interrupted, then went on his way shoving through the crowd.

Reagan stood still for a few more moments to let more people pass, he felt it was best if he didn't make anymore enemies. Lukas was already far ahead by now, there was no point in trying to catch up. He'd just meet him at the castle.

"Firs' years over here! Firs' years!" He heard a great, booming voice of a man calling once he finally set foot onto the platform. He looked around for the voice and he saw a large man, _really _large man, whose shape seemed to take up most of the sky that was deepening into a dark purple. He had a lantern in his large hands, and was looking around at all the young students; possibly to get a headcount. _That must be Hagrid, _Reagan thought. Hagrid was one of Shea's favorite teachers. Which was an achievement by itself, because from what Reagan tell, Shea wasn't all that fond of any sort of authority.

Reagan hurried his way over to the crowd of first-years, the nervous feeling in his stomach coming up again. He was glad at that moment he didn't get any candy off the trolley in the train, he would've thrown it all up by now.

"Righ' then, follow me!" Hagrid called as all the children gathered around him. He then led them all down a steep path through thick trees.

"Nervous?" Asked the boy walking beside him, wearing a smirk. Reagan wasn't sure what gave him away, the shaky way he was moving, or the fact that his eyes were just staring ahead, wide open. Reagan looked over to the boy, whose smirk faltered considerably as his green eyes met Reagan's blue that were still wide open, making him look like a deer in the headlights.

"A bit, yeah," Reagan said, furrowing his brows. What he said was an understatement, as nerves were about the only thing he felt the whole day since he woke up. His brows furrowed a little more as he swore he saw the boy's messy hair change color from dark brown to a slightly greenish color.

The other boy evidently noticed that Reagan was staring at him, because he gave Reagan a weird look, scrunching up his nose and squinting. Reagan swore his hair changed color again. "Did your hair just-" Reagan started to ask, when the other boy cut him off.

"_Yes," _He said, running a hand through his hair. "It just changed color. I haven't got much of a handle on my abilities, so it does that subconsciously."

"_Abilities?" _Reagan asked, an eyebrow raised.

"I'm a metamorphmagus, I can change my appearance at will," The boy whispered, and crossed his arms. "Or _should be. _Can't really control it now, mostly my hair just changes color depending on my mood, I think."

Reagan raised both eyebrows, "Like a mood ring?" He asked.

"Whatever _that _is."

"It's a kind of muggle thing you wear and it's supposed to change color depending on your mood. Sounds rubbish to me, though. Shea breathed on one while he was wearin' it, and it said he was angry."

The other boy snorted, and his smirk returned in full effect. "Think I'd be angry if I was getting breathed on."

Reagan laughed a little, feeling slightly less nervous now. "Yeah, I think I'd be pretty ticked as well. 'Specially if it was Shea, he's got serious dog breath," He said, scrunching his nose at the thought of Shea's bad breath. Thinking it a bit rude to be chatting his ear off without the boy at least knowing his name, he introduced himself. "Err, my name's Reagan Hammond. What's yours?"

The boy grinned at him, sticking out his hand. Evidently the two boys that he'd officially met were a lot more used to introductions. "Name's Teddy Lupin. You related to that nutter who came into Platform 9 and 3/4ths riding his trolley? Thought I saw you helping him get and the other redhead picking up that mess."

Reagan nodded. "Yeah, that was Shea. Thought Siobhan was gonna hex 'im on the spot, she looked so mad."

Hagrid stopped at last at the shore of a large body of water that was reflecting the dark sky above, and the children behind him also stopped, gaping at the castle rising high above it.

Both Reagan and Teddy knocking into a couple kids in front of them, who both swiveled their heads around to glare at them. Reagan and Teddy both uttered a quiet "Sorry", and they looked back, shaking their heads.

"Alrigh', everyone in the boats!" Hagrid called back to the children, ushering to the many boats that were on the shore. "No more'n four in a boat, y'hear?" He said, watching as the as the first-years filed into boats.

Reagan got in a boat with Teddy, a boy with short black hair called Ashley Crosby, and a boy with shaggy brown haired that nearly came to his eyes called Morgan Gladwine. The two seemed to be best friends already, Reagan assumed they might have known each other before they got on the train.

He looked around for any sign of Lukas, and saw him four boats over, waving and grinning, sharing a boat with a boy and girl with golden hair and freckled faces who were also grinning. The other was boy with deep tan skin and messy black hair, looking very sour, arms crossed over his chest.

"Everybody in?" Hagrid asked as he got into one boat, which was all for himself. "Alrigh', FORWARD!" He called, and the boat started sailing forward on command.

Everyone remained mostly silent, save for a few gasps here and there from one of the girls as they looked upon the castle, or one of the boys screaming because they swore that something jumped onto them while they were going through low trees. When the boats finally stopped, their was a shared feeling of relief, Reagan thought.

They all walked from where the small boats stopped, up to the great front doors made of oak wood, which Hagrid knocked on with his large knuckles, and the doors opened. A small man greeted everyone at the door, smiling at the young students who were trying to peer into the large entrance hall. "Firs' years're here, Professor Flitwick!" Hagrid said with a smile that was hidden in his tangle of beard.

"Yes, thank you, Hagrid! Enjoy your evening." Professor Flitwick said, returning the smile. Reagan could definitely see already how Flitwick was Siobhan's favorite Professor. He had a very welcoming air about him, just like her dad.

Professor Flitwick lead the children into the castle and off to a small chamber opposite the doorway to the Great Hall. "Good evening, all! Welcome to Hogwarts." Flitwick started. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but first you all are going to be going through a Sorting ceremony. Where you will be sorted into four houses, which will be something like you're family while here at Hogwarts. You will attend classes with the rest of the students in your house, share a dormitory with them, and spend your free-time in your houses common room as well.

"The four houses are Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. Each house has it's own history to it, and they each have produced countless talented witches and wizards. During the year, you will be rewarded house points for your triumphs, or have them taken away for any rule-breaking. At the end of the year, the house cup will be awarded to whichever house that has retained the most points. The house cup is quite the high honor, so I do hope you all will behave in a manner that deserves it." He concluded with a pointed look toward the curly-haired boy who Reagan accidentally bumped into.

"The Sorting Ceremony will begin in a few short minutes in front of the whole student body, so prepare yourselves for many eyes on you if you're the nervous type," Professor Flitwick said. "I will return in a few minutes when we're ready for you."

Professor Flitwick left the chamber, and Reagan's nerves came back in full effect. _In front of the whole student body. _Everyone. All eyes on him. Why on _earth _did Flitwick mention that? Was this school's way of weeding out the faint of heart? Because Reagan certainly felt like it was. What if he tripped on his way up? What if they all laughed? What if the hat put him in a house that was different from his newly-met friends? What if Shea and Siobhan didn't want to associate with them anymore because he was in a different house from them? Reagan felt nauseous again despite not having eaten since before he got to King's Cross Station. He took a few stabilizing breaths to keep him from shaking so badly, but they seemed to have little effect.

As the other students were whispering to each other about the ceremony or trying to distract themselves from their own nerves by looking around, Reagan was nervously fidgeting with the tie he put on crooked when on the train, and tried in vain to smooth out the ruddy-brown hair on his head. It was all he could to keep his mind off the people in the other room, and not break down crying. "You know anyone out there?" Teddy asked suddenly, slightly scaring Reagan.

"Yeah... my cousins are out there," He said, giving his tie another tweaking. Teddy didn't seem to make any effort to fix his own tie, which was crooked and loose. Siobhan would've hit Reagan over the head if he went out like that. "What about you?" He asked.

Teddy shook his head. "Nah, nobody now. But my best friend Victoire is coming next year, she's a lot like family to me."

"Oh..." Reagan said, and left it at that. Why would he see his best friend as family? Maybe Teddy didn't have many relatives to speak of? He decided he wouldn't press on it, since it was only the first day.


	4. The Sorting

**A/N: At last we reach the Sorting! I didn't name all of the kids that were sorted in this chapter, but I assure you, names will crop up over the course of the story (two of the skipped names show up close to the end of this one.) Reviews are very welcome for this story, since it _is _my first fic for the Harry Potter fandom, and I really would like to know if I got something slightly wrong, or if you all like it. Enjoy!**

* * *

After what seemed like forever to Reagan, Professor Flitwick came back. "Okay, all, the ceremony is about to begin, so if you all will form a neat, single file line... good," Flitwick said as all the first-years formed a line, "Now, follow me."

If the view of the castle from the outside was amazing, the Great Hall was absolutely _breath-taking. _Reagan couldn't help but gawk slightly at the sight as he stumbled along with his fellow first-years. The hall was lit by thousands of candles were floating above the four tables where the rest of the students were seated. All of the tables were laid with golden plates and goblets, including the last long table, the staff table, which was sitting so it faced the other tables. Floating among the students were pale, silvery ghosts, but the most amazing thing, Reagan thought, was the ceiling above. It looked exactly as the sky did outside, dark and filled with many, many stars.

As the first-years line came to a halt so they were all in front of the staff table, and the entire student body, Professor Flitwick brought out a small, four-legged stool and an ancient-looking pointed hat, which he rested on top of it.

The hat proceeded to sing a song out of a rip near the frayed brim, about the founder's of each house; Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Salazar Slytherin, and Helga Hufflepuff, and each of the traits that they treasured most in their houses: Gryffindor treasured the brave, nervy and daring so he could see why Shea ended up there, Ravenclaw the wise, witty and bookish, so he could see why Siobhan there. Slytherin treasured the cunning and ambitious, which Reagan felt he was neither, and Hufflepuff took the loyal, hard-working and patient, which Reagan thought sounded much like his mother.

Everyone applauded as the hat finished it's song, and Professor Flitwick stepped forward, now holding a roll of parchment. "When I call your name, come forward and sit on the stool, and the hat will sort you into your houses," He stretched out the roll of parchment, and read the first name. "Ackerman, Holly!"

A girl with long, straight brown hair and a pink face full of freckles skipped forward, not looking nervous in the least. If she _was, _Reagan thought, she was really good at hiding it. She tossed some stray hair over her shoulders, beamed out to everyone before her, and let the hat be put on her head.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" The hat shouted without hesitation, then Holly (and her now black and yellow tie) skipped her way over to the Hufflepuff table, hugging a tall, older boy who had his arms outstretched that Reagan guessed must be a brother, and sat down beside him, still smiling brightly.

"Ainsley, Stella!" A girl with strawberry blonde hair that was back in a french-braided bun, and a carefully expressionless look sat down on the stool, smoothing her robes. "SLYTHERIN!" The hat called after several moments of deliberation, and Stella sped-walked to the table wearing green and silver, straight-faced (but with a ghost of a smile) as she came in.

"Alberts, Aidan!" A boy with fiery-red, spiked up hair swaggered over to the stool with a smirk. He seemed to not have a single doubt to where he would end up, and Reagan was more than a little jealous of the boy's certainty. "GRYFFINDOR!" The hat proclaimed, and Aidan went to join the students in red and gold.

"Altair, Fahim!" The moody-looking boy who was in the boat with Lukas strolled over and put on the hat, his eyes were shut tight and he was muttering under his breath. "Ravenclaw!" The hat shouted, and Fahim dashed over to the table decked in blue and bronze excitedly, grinning from ear to ear, very changed in demeanor from when Reagan saw him earlier.

"Andrews, Elsa!" A blonde girl who looked small for walked over, tripping over her robes that were a smidge to big for her on the way over. Some students laughed, and the small girl got up with, face reddening, and clambered onto the stool. "RAVENCLAW!" The hat proclaimed, and the girl hurried over to her table, and sitting next in between a couple older girls including Siobhan, who consoled her.

"Arthur, Kyle!" The boy who Reagan ran into on the train went over to the stool. While he was walking he glared at Reagan, and he couldn't help the really bad feeling in the pit of his stomach as he caught his eyes and Kyle furrowed his brows. _Was he still mad? _Reagan thought. _Is he going to try and hex me when I have my back turned? _He didn't like the look that he was getting from him, so he turned his gaze down to his shoes instead. "SLYTHERIN!" The hat shouted almost as soon as the hat was upon Kyle's curly head.

After humble-looking _Asher, Nathaniel _was placed into Gryffindor, Reagan's mind drifted out of focus until he heard the recently-met _Crosby, Ashley_ was placed in Gryffindor (leaving Morgan exceedingly more frightened at the prospect of being split up) and somehow familiar looking _Davies, Trevor _was placed in Ravenclaw.

More names went by (_Dressler, Louis _to Gryffindor, _DuBois, Christian _to Slytherin, _Faulkner, Michael _and _Fredrick, Basil _both to Ravenclaw), and finally Lukas was called up. Lukas now looked as terrified as Reagan did most of the day, eyes wide open as he plopped down on the seat with the hat on his head. The hat had taken a long time deciding where Lukas should be, and it seemed like Lukas' internal arguing couldn't change the hat's mind. "HUFFLEPUFF!" The hat shouted, and Lukas slumped over to the Hufflepuff's table, looking slightly disappointed.

After stuffy looking _Gamble, Linette _was placed in Slytherin, and _Gladwine, Morgan _placed into Gryffindor (and being greeted with a hug that neither Ashley nor Morgan was ashamed to have everyone see), Reagan's name was finally called up, and he drew two slow, deep breaths as he walked to the stool.

He could see Shea and Siobhan craning their necks to see, both of them smiling, probably remembering their time two years ago on the stool. It felt like ages from his spot in line to the stool, but thankfully he got there without any real hitch. He sat down on the stool and let the hat be placed on his head, which somewhat drooped over his eyes as he tried to avoid the stares of everyone in the room.

"_Ah, so we have another Hammond," _Reagan heard a voice whispering in his head. _"I remember everyone who I have sorted since I was first created... why, it seems like only yesterday since your brother was sorted... even your mother is a fairly clear memory... She was just as uncertain as you are right now, didn't know where she belonged... every one of her brothers so far had been in different houses. You have many of her qualities... you seem to have an incredibly nervous mind..." _Reagan felt his heart drop a little as the hat mentioned his mother's main shortcoming. _"But also a very kind heart, a tolerance and patience for others, you seem to me a hard worker, with a willingness to learn. I think you will do well in..." _Reagan's heartbeat quickened in pace as he tightened his grip on the seat of the stool, eyes shut tight. "HUFFLEPUFF!" The hat shouted, and Reagan was relieved.

He grinned widely as he went over to the Hufflepuff's table, taking in the applause that some of the students imparted on the students who were being sorted, and took a seat by Lukas who looked very cheered up.

After Reagan was seated at the Hufflepuff table, he chattered with Lukas, neither of them really paying attention to the sorting now that they were together, until _Longbourne, Felicity _and _Longbourne, Felix _were sorted into Ravenclaw, and Lukas recognized them as the twins from the boat. "Lupin, Edward!" Flitwick called, and Teddy walked to the the stool as carefully as he could, trying to show no fear to the crowd, sitting down and putting the hat on his head. After a couple minutes, the hat shouted "HUFFLEPUFF!". Teddy's cool facade slipped in a grand way as he got one leg tangled on the stool and fell over, scrambled up to his feet, and grinned at the laughing children in the hopes of conveying the message _it's okay, I meant to do that _(Teddy's hair turned a pink color along with his cheeks, though, which definitely betrayed the messsage.) then hurrying over to a spot between Reagan and Lukas at the table.

Reagan and his two friends drifted in and out of focus as the hat sorted from _Nejem, Ahmed _to _Van Houten, Geoffrey, _and the nauseous feeling Reagan had throughout the day was replaced by an overwhelming _empty _feeling in his stomach that left him wondering about nothing more at the moment than "W_hen are we going to eat?". _A glance over to his cousin at the Gryffindor table said that he was thinking the same exact thing, he couldn't hear him over the din in the hall, but he could read his lips saying, _"God, I'm starving!", _as he leaned his head back to look toward the heavenly ceiling in exasperation.

Professor Flitwick rolled the scroll back up, picked up the hat and stool, and went to put them away. As Flickwick left, the Headmistress stood up. She was a tall, stern-looking woman dressed in green robes and a pointy hat, gray hair pulled back into a bun. She surveyed the students as the noise in the hall stopped and all eyes went to her. She began speaking in a loud voice, so that all corners of the hall could hear. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts, and welcome to our new students! My name is Professor Minerva McGonagall, the Headmistress here. I have some notices for you, as we do every year, but," She smiled to the students below, some of them (including Shea) looking positively mad with hunger. "I can see you all look very hungry, so let the feast begin!"

At those words, a wide range of food and drink appeared on all the tables. The appearance of all that food so suddenly left Reagan with his mouth and eyes wide-open with shock as he looked down the whole stretch of table, catching the eye of a couple older Hufflepuff's, who were having a laugh watching the younger kids shocked faces. He quickly averted his eyes and looked over to Lukas, who was in absolute bliss right now with a wide grin, helping himself to as much food as his plate could hold.

"Reagan, Reagan, _Ray! _Look at all this, didn't I _say _it'd be amazing? You should tuck in right now, 'fore I eat everything here!" He said with a laugh, then started eating at such a rapid pace that the other students at the table couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah, I think I'll do just that," Reagan said with smile, piling food onto his own plate. Roast chicken, a big helping of mashed potatoes, carrots... another serving of chicken... he wasn't eating quite as much as Lukas, but you could certainly tell that Reagan was making up for his skipped lunch. Even though he had had a lot of dinner, he didn't object to plenty of cake and pudding for dessert.

The desserts soon vanished as Professor McGonagall rose to her feet and cleared her throat. All eyes were on her. "Now that our minds are off the subject of food, the notices that I mentioned before we started dining," She looked serious. "First years should know that the forest grounds as strictly forbidden to pupils," She then gave a pointed look toward the direction of Shea and his Gryffindor friends, who were all smirking. _"All _pupils."

Shea's smirk vanished.

"Mr. Filch, our caretaker, would also like to remind you all—_for the thousandth time—_that the using of magic is _absolutely prohibited_ in the halls. There are a number of things that are also prohibited, and are seen on a list fastened on the door of Mr. Filch's office door. Quidditch Trials will be held the second week of term. Anyone interested in playing for their house team should contact Madam Hooch," She said with a look over to the woman, then addressed the crowd again. "I am sure you all are very tired after your long journeys here. So I think it is wise that we all 'turn in', as they say. Prefects, if you will lead the first-years toward their houses, I will bid you all a good night." Professor McGonagall finished, and the Hall was filled again with the noise of many students chattering excitedly, this time also including the first-years wondering aloud what their house would be like.

"Hope it's not too long a walk," Teddy said, feet shuffling a little as they walked and he was in danger of tripping again. "I'm _exhausted."_

"You're in luck, Lupin," Said the Hufflepuff's prefect, turning his head to address Teddy. "Hufflepuff's common room entrance is just down the stairs, right by the kitchen entrance."

"Oh, cool, so we're _right by _the kitchens?" Lukas asked.

"Killian _just _told usthat," said Holly Ackerman, rolling her eyes.

"Hey now, don't get cross with him, little sister," The prefect said to his younger sister, who had a nasty look on her face and looked ready to strike Lukas (who was sticking his tongue out at her).

They reached the bottom of the stairs, walked the corridor past the kitchens, and stopped at a stack of barrels. "The entrance is right here, barrel two from the bottom, middle of the second row. To enter, you need to tap it in the rhythm of 'Helga Hufflepuff'," Killian demonstrated by tapping said barrel so the first-years could see, prompting the barrel lid to swing open. "If you tap it the wrong amount of times, use the wrong rhythm, or tap the wrong barrel... well, you'll get drenched in vinegar, so _please_ be sure to remember, or else make sure to keep close by another Hufflepuff who _can_. I'd hate to hear of one our first-years having to sleep in the hall all wet."

The students followed Killian through the tunnel the barrel revealed, and set foot in the common room. The new students all gazed around in wonder.

"Whoa... it looks like a hobbit hole!" Connor Bailey, a freckle-faced first-year with red hair exclaimed as he looked around the circular room, plopping down on a squashy yellow armchair by the fire. He reminded Reagan of a slightly younger, pleasant-natured Shea.

"How do know what a rabbit hole even looks like on the inside, d'ya get stuck in one or somethin'?" Matty Autberry, a dark skinned first-year asked, a note of disbelief in his voice.

"No, not a _rabbit _hole_, _a _hobbit _hole!" Connor exclaimed. "Little people that live in hills."

"Dunno what you're on about." Matty replied.

"Alright, first-years, off to bed. Big day ahead of you tomorrow, so I don't want you stay up too late. Girls dormitories through the tunnel on the left, boys on the right," Killian said, pointing out the the tunnels on the left and right, then leading the first-year boys to their dorm as the female prefect showed the girls to theirs.

Reagan followed Killian and the other first-year boys to their dormitory, and started unpacking his things quietly, listening to the other boys chattering away while they also unpacked.

"So, do you reckon classes tomorrow wil be tough?" Lukas asked once he got unpacked and threw himself heavily onto his four-poster. "I know Killian said we've got a big day, but he probably tells that to all of the first years so they won't stay up later than we should."

"As if we were _really_ going right to bed," Teddy said, rolling his eyes as he plastered a poster of the Weird Sisters by his bed. "Probably just gonna be a bunch of introductions and going over simple spells. Shouldn't be _too_ tough."

"Speak for yourself!" Connor said, throwing his arms up in defeat. "I ain't ever heard spells being used for magic before! Aside from Hocus Pocus, Abracadabra and all that."

Matty raised a brow at him. "... Like the bits in the Daily Prophet? Those are _spells?_"

"The _what?" _Connor asked.

"The newspaper. The wizard newspaper," Matty replied.

"Wizards have _newspapers?" _Connor replied with a question, prompting the other boys in the room to all look at him. "What?"

Reagan couldn't help a smile. Even him, who had a mostly muggle childhood, knew that wizard's indeed had newspapers. "Connor, I think you have to pay extra attention tomorrow."

Connor gave a pout of indignation, getting into his bed huffily (reminding Reagan more of Shea) and the other boys save from him laughed. Reagan didn't mean any offense by it, but he'd apologize in the morning.


	5. The Squabble

**A/N: Sorry this update took so long! I was very busy with college prep and whatnot. I hope you all are still reading, because Reagan runs into some conflict here.**

* * *

"Hey—Connor!" Reagan called after the ginger the next morning as the Hufflepuffs followed Killian to the Great Hall. Connor hadn't said a word to the other boys when they all woke up, got dressed without paying attention to any of them when they were trying to make conversation, and completely avoided Reagan.

Connor was speed-walking toward the Great Hall with Holly Ackerman beside him, who glared back at Reagan as he ran to catch up them. Evidently Connor had told her about what Reagan said last night and the other boys' reaction, and she took it as the other boys playing 'Gang Up On The Muggle-Born', just as Connor did.

"_Don't even start, _Hammond. Can't you see that Connor doesn't want to talk to you?" Holly said fiercely, turning to him with her hands on her hips. Connor stopped beside her, but didn't say anything. "I don't blame him, after you and the others boys bullied him. You ought to be ashamed!"

Reagan frowned. "I _am _ashamed," He said, turning his frown down to his feet.

"That's right, you should be-" Holly stopped short, tilting her had in confusion. Connor turned to look at Reagan. "What?"

"I _am _ashamed," He repeated, looking Connor in the eyes. "Listen, Connor. I'm sorry. _Really _sorry. I didn't mean to poke fun at your expense, honest. I was jus' tryin' to say that-you know, you should pay attention today because you don't know much about the wizard world and that could put you behind everyone else," He furrowed his brows. "The other lads took it as a joke and I laughed with 'em. I know how lousy it feels to get laughed at and I shouldn'ta done it to you. It wasn't fair at all, " He held his hand out to Connor. "Forgive me?"

Connor looked at Reagan's outstretched hand for a second, smiled, met Reagan's eyes and shook his hand. "Yeah, I forgive you, mate."

Reagan smiled. "Good. Let's get down to breakfast, then. Sure one of 'em have started eatin' already without waitin' for us," He said, walking with Connor the rest of the way to the Great Hall.

When they reached the hall, they saw that Reagan was right. Teddy had taken a full plate of food but hadn't eaten much, but Lukas was already eating as if the food would be taken from under his nose any minute. Matty just looked like he'd fall asleep in his cereal.

"I hate early mornings," He yawned, head in hand. "Absolutely hate them."

"Well, this is going to be a fun experience, ain't it?" Teddy said, then looked over to Reagan and Connor approaching the three of them, just dodging the dirty look that Matty shot him. "Wotcher, Reagan! What's taken you so long? Is Connor talking to us again?"

"Connor can hear you, you know," Connor said, sitting next to Matty and starting to fill up his plate.

Reagan smiled as he sat down. "Yeah, Connor _is_ speaking to us again. I was just about to say somethin', too..." He trailed off, wracking his brain for what he was going to say.

"Take your time, then," Teddy said with a smirk.

Reagan glared at him. "Oh, _hush. _I'm thinkin'. I was just about to say that we should lend Connor a hand today, get him... sort of up to speed on things in the wizard world," He looked over at Connor. "If that's alright with you?"

Raising his brows, Connor nodded. "Yeah, that's alright! I'm gonna need all the help I can get, right?"

"Sounds like a plan, then!" Teddy said brightly, pounding the table with his hand and accidentally flinging a spoon in Matty's direction, startling him awake after he dozed off. Matty shot him another dirty look, which Teddy caught this time and sunk under. "Sorry!"

"What do you think, Lukas?" Reagan asked as he turned to him. Lukas' mouth was full, so he settled for looking at Reagan and giving a thumbs-up. "Okay, Connor, so if you n-"

"Reagan!" Called a familiar voice that was approaching from across the hall.

Reagan whipped his head over to the source of the noise. It was Siobhan approaching, waving at him, with Elsa Andrews walking beside her. "Hullo, Siobhan!" He said with a smile. The other boys turned to look at her. "And... Elsa, right?" The small girl nodded mutely. "What's up?"

Siobhan smiled in return. "I just wanted to see how my _little ray of sunshine _is getting on so far," Siobhan said, approaching Reagan and mussing up his hair. The other boys snickered at the nickname, prompting Reagan to flush in embarrassment, but Siobhan didn't seem to notice. "Little Elsie here wanted to come, the poor lass didn't want to be left alone. Had a good night's rest?" Siobhan asked.

Reagan knew his cousin well enough that this was only a starting question; the beginning to several questions making sure he was comfortable after his first day, so he braced himself. "Yeah, I did."

"Was it cold down there? I heard that it gets a bit nippy in the lower levels."

"No, it was actually pretty comfortable. Nice and warm."

"Did you have anything to eat on the train?"

"I didn't, but it's okay, I had a big dinner."

"Did Shea check up on you already?"

"He didn't, I haven't seen him since last night."

"Are these your friends?" Siobhan asked, looking toward the boys.

Reagan looked at the boys as well, hoping for affirmation. _He _thought they were friends, but what if the others did not? Matty hadn't made any sign as he was out like a light again; but Lukas, Teddy and Connor were all smiling and nodding. Reagan smiled, looked back to Siobhan and nodded. "Yeah, they are. They're m'roomates as well."

Siobhan's eyebrows raised either in surprise or delight. "Oh! How wonderful. Could you introduce them to me? I'm afraid I wasn't paying all that much attention to the sorting aside from when it called your name."

"Sure!" Reagan said, now beaming. "This is Connor Bailey," He pointed out the redhead, who waved. "The sleepy one is Matty Autberry," He pointed out the boy who was asleep with his head in his arms. "That's Lukas Gallagher I met him on the train," He pointed out the blonde, who waved more fervently than Connor had. "And that's Teddy Lupin, we talked on the way up to the castle," He said, pointing over to Teddy who gave a two fingered salute of some sort. "Guys, this is Siobhan, my cousin."

"It's nice to meet you all! Gallagher... your brother isn't Will Gallagher, is he? The Gryffindor prefect?"

Lukas nodded. "Yeah, that's my brother. You know him?"

"Haven't met him personally, but I know of him. Shea gets in trouble with him regularly, so I usually hear about him in complaints from Shea about how unfair he is," She furrowed her brows, then adopted a voice like Shea's. "_'I was jus' goin' for a little walk in the corridors because I couldn't sleep, it wasn't harmin' nobody'_. Honestly,he's ridiculous to think he _wouldn't _get in trouble for something like that," She said, catching sight of Kennith Lochlann out of the corner of her eye, who was laughing at the dead-on impression of his friend.

"This Shea guy sounds like a riot," Teddy said with a smirk to Lukas and Connor, who both nodded with grins plastered on their faces.

"Is that all you wanted, Siobhan?" Reagan asked, poking at his breakfast and avoiding the looks of the other boys, slightly embarrassed.

"Hmm?" Siobhan was pulled out of her daze toward the boy, flushing. "Oh, ehm... Shea's going to check up with you at dinner, mum wanted us to take turns during first week," She hugged Reagan from behind with one arm, and kissed him on the top of his head. "Good luck today, don't get in any fights."

"I won't, I promise..." Reagan said uncertainly, a flush creeping up his neck. He wouldn't _start _any, but he had the funniest feeling that that Arthur kid would certainly try to.

"Goodbye!" She said, letting go of Reagan and heading over to Ravenclaw table, waving at the boys as she left. Elsa waved to them mutely as well. The boys all waved back, including Reagan, but aside from him the boys had looks of suppressed laughter.

When Siobhan was out of sight, the three boys turned to him, bursting out laughing, which caused the flush that was creeping up his neck earlier to go straight to his face. He tried to hide it by looking at his breakfast.

"_Little Ray of Sunshine!" _Lukas shouted.

"Please stop..." Reagan mumbled.

"Does wittle Weagan miss sissy's kissies?" Teddy teased.

"_Please _stop_." _Reagan said, more forcefully.

"Reagan, I didn't take you for the _brawling _type!" Connor said.

He stood up, slamming his hands on the table and glowered at the three of them. "If you lot don't _shut up _like I'm askin' you nicely t'do, I _will _be!" His shout woke up Matty again, who looked absolutely confused. The other three boys looked startled, ceasing their laughter immediately.

"What the _hell _are you on about?" Matty asked, narrowing his eyes at Reagan.

"_Nothing." _Reagan said, taking a deep breaths and exhaling, sitting back down to finish his breakfast.

"I promise I won't call you that if you don't like it, Ray!" Lukas said, eyebrows raised high.

"Guess that was a _bit_ out of line..." Teddy trailed off, crossing his arms with a shamed look.

"Err... sorry, mate," Connor said, a nervous grin on his face. "Suppose we're even, now?"

Reagan cracked a small smile and shook his head, "Yeah, suppose so. Sorry for exploding on you all," He said.

…...

After breakfast was finished, the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw 1st-years both proceeded to the first class of the year – Transfiguration.

Since the previous Transfiguration teacher was now the Headmistress, she was replaced 11 years ago by a man named Jeremiah Hilliard. The man was a favorite among the students if only because he was the subject of quite a few outlandish rumors.

"I heard that he escaped from an orphanage when he was 9 years old and was on the run ever since!" Said Theodora Blackburn, a Ravenclaw witch, as the first-years all walked to the classroom.

"_I _heard that he's a werewolf, _that's _why he ran away from that orphanage. He got bit and didn't want to be around other kids and hurt them," said Micha Faulkner, another Ravenclaw, nodding with a solemn look on his face.

Teddy rolled his eyes.

"I heard that he taught in _France _for a while, at the Beauxbatons school!" Holly Ackerman piped in, "Isn't that so _neat? _We're learning transfiguration from someone who taught in _France!"_

"I heard something about him being an bullfrog Animagus, but I think they were jus' yanking' me leg." Said Trevor Davies, another Ravenclaw.

"I heard that he was supposed to be a Ravenclaw! I mean _really, _someone as smart as him in _Gryffindor_?" Said Ahmed Nejem.

"Oi! Gryffindors can be just as smart as Ravenclaws when they wanna!" Lukas said angrily, then turned to Reagan. "You heard anything about him, Ray?"

"Ehm... not much aside from that Siobhan has a big crush on him," Reagan said with a nervous smile.

"Hope he's patient," Connor said, looking worried. "I don't think I'm gonna be very good right away..."

"I'm sure he _has _to be good, if Professor McGonagall chose him," Said another Ravenclaw, Rana Babcock.

The students all sat down in the classroom, still chattering about the rumors about Professor Hilliard, right up until he arrived. Reagan couldn't be any more surprised when the man they were all talking about arrived; the man didn't seem at all larger than life than they made him out to be.

"Alright class, settle down, settle down," Said Professor Hilliard, calmly but clearly. The man was fairly young; likely in his mid-thirties, with wavy brown hair and a light stubble. He had a very calm look about him, which was the main reason Reagan doubted that he had had a turbulent life. "My name is Professor Jeremiah Hilliard, your Transfiguration professor. Transfiguration is one of the most difficult and dangerous forms of magic," Connor could be heard moaning. "but if you focus and apply yourself, you can do this," He then changed his desk into a large pig.

The students were all impressed and applauded Professor Hilliard. He nodded gratefully, then changed the pig back into a desk. "I will tell you right now, it will be quite a while until you're doing that, and right now we are going to be starting small. Copy what I have written on the board, and then we will get started with the rest of the lesson."

The students took out their quills and parchment, and copied down what was written on the board. Once they were finished copying the notes on the board, they proceeded to the first lesson; which was to change a match into a needle. Many of the students failed to do so on the first try with the exception of two; Ahmed Nejem, and, to his and his table-mate's great surprise: Connor.

Reagan had walked him through the process and would have done it for himself, but his concentration was on helping Connor.

"Excellent work, Mr. Bailey!" Professor Hilliard said as he went around, inspecting the students' work, and clapped a shoulder on Connor's shoulder. "Ten points to Hufflepuff."

Connor beamed up at him. "Thanks, Professor Hilliard!" Reagan smiled at Connor, giving him a thumbs up. Connor gave him a thumbs up and waited for Professor Hillard to walk away. "Thanks a lot, Reagan!" He said.

"It was no problem. I promised I'd help, didn't I?" Reagan replied.

…...

Aside from Connor's triumph, there was nothing much of note happening in the class. As everyone walked to their next classes, Ahmed was acting considerably cool toward anyone who tried to talk to him in his annoyance with the teacher overlooking him being the first to achieve the set goal, in favor of 'that bumbling muggle-born'.

Even as they walked the corridor to their next class, Herbology, Connor was beaming to himself with pride and divulging his triumph with anyone who was near enough to hear it. "Imagine that! Me, a muggle-born, was the first one to figure out how to do it!"He said.

"You _weren't, _though. That Nejem kid was. Then Reagan, but he didn't do it for himself 'cause he was showing _you,_" Teddy pointed out, prompting Reagan to flush in embarrassment and Connor to give him a sour look. "What? You _weren't _the first one, you had help. The professor just happened to notice that you'd done it."

Connor spent the duration of class time, like Ahmed, treating everyone coldly as he did the previous evening. Even Reagan, even though he hadn't said a word against him this time.

"I was fine with him getting the praise, you know..." Reagan said as he sat down next to Teddy in Herbology. "He needed a pick-me-up."

"I don't _care _what he needed, it was a prat move for him to do that. _You _taught him the steps when he didn't get it, you're the one who deserves the credit, not him," Teddy said, furrowing his brows as he looked at Reagan, who was avoiding locking eyes with Teddy. "Come off, don't tell me you were _actually _okay with it!"

"I—I guess I wasn't... I just thought it sorta made up for what I said-"

"You apologized, didn't you? And he forgave you, right? You don't have to make up for anything, you already did."

Reagan still didn't look at him. "I don't _feel _like I did-"

"You _did, _mate. He's just an ungrateful prat," Teddy said, patting him on the shoulder. "You're allowed to be mad."

"I'm not _mad. _And would you stop calling him-" Reagan started, but was cut off.

"Mr. Lupin, Mr. Hammond, if you aren't talking about Venemous Tenacula, then I have to ask you to continue your discussion after class," Professor Longbottom warned as he passed by the tables.

"Sorry, Mr. Longbottom," Reagan and Teddy said. Although Teddy didn't sound or look even a bit sorry, Reagan made up for it by looking quite pathetic.

"_Maybe he's right," _Reagan thought._ "Maybe I don't owe him anything... I could've got the praise but I didn't. And he was being really annoying about it too... He could've told everyone that I helped but he acted like he did it all himself instead." _Reagan furrowed his brows. _"I _am _kind of angry! And he doesn't have a right to be angry with me 'cause I didn't do anything!"_

Reagan wasn't the type to get mad often, but when he was, he was _seething._ He spent a great deal of the rest of the class period angrily scribbling his notes in silence with his brows still furrowed. When someone asked him a question, he just responded with a grunt. This behavior kept up until lunchtime, when he sat alone at a corner of Hufflepuff table while his dorm mates were a few seats over from him, having seen on that morning what Reagan could be like when angry.

"Alone on your first day, eh?" Kyle Arthur said with a sneer as he walked past Reagan with a group of Slytherins. "How _pathetic. _I guess I should've expected from some raggedy Hammond boy."

Reagan looked around to Kyle's larger Slytherin friends fearfully, before his eyes rested on Kyle. "I _wanted _to be alone."

"Oh, _of course _you did. Didn't want to accidentally stomp on anyone's feet, huh?" Kyle retorted, prompting the two larger boys flanking him to laugh stupidly.

Reagan furrowed his brows. "That was an _accident. _I didn't see you in the train, there was too many people. I was just tryin' to get out," Reagan said, then added as an after-thought, "Just like _you _were, but I wasn't intentionally trying to hurt anyone."

A flash of anger crossed Kyle's eyes, and he crossed his arms. "Are you _accusing me _of hurting people?!"

"That's _exactly _what I was doing, actually," Reagan said, folding his arms as well.

"How _dare _you! Don't you know who I am?!" Kyle shouted.

"No, I'm afraid I _don't. _Why should I? I'm just the pathetic loner, aren't I?"

"I'm _Kyle Arthur, _for your information! My father could_ defame_ yours with the snap of his fingers, so don't cross me or I'll tell him what you've done!"

"I don't care _if _you tell him or not! It's not like he could put my father out of business, I don't _have _one!" Reagan said, standing up and slamming his hands on the table. "Why don't you go pick on someone your own species, you toad!"

As with that morning, Reagan's dorm mates all stared at him at his outburst;, but now nearly everyone else in the vicinity of Reagan's shouting was staring at him; watching him intently as if his was some sort of circus entertainer.

What Reagan showed that morning was just a spot of annoyance, but now it was pure rage. He was very sensitive on the topic of his parents; though he hadn't seen his father before, it still hurt when people tried to bring him up. Kyle was lucky that he hadn't brought up Reagan's mother; if he had, then there was no telling what Reagan would think of doing.

"Oi! Hammond! I'm warning you right now, we don't call names!"Killian shouted across the table.

Kyle clenched his teeth and narrowed his eyes. "You don't want me as an enemy, Hammond. _Think _about what you've said," And with that, Kyle whisked away.

"What on _earth _was that about?" Said Lukas as him and his dorm mates went over to Reagan.

Reagan paused, trying to think it over. "... I reckon he doesn't like me."


	6. Flying

"_Doesn't like you?" _Matty repeated with an incredulous tone. "Are you _barmy? _Obviously he doesn't! In fact, I'd go so far to say he _hates_ you."

"What've you gone and done to him, Ray? He was in a right state!" Lukas said.

"I didn't do nothin', _he _was the one that started pokin' fun at me in the first place."

"Obviously you did something to upset him, what was it?" Matty asked.

Reagan shrugged. "I _may _have given him cheek?"

"Nice!" Teddy exclaimed, raising a hand up in the air for a high five. The other boys looked worried. "What? The prat deserved it. Did you see the way he was pushing those kids around yesterday? Nearly shoved someone out of the boat on the way here!"

"Well, as much as he would've _deserved it, _giving him cheek doesn't seem like too good an idea. He'll only give you trouble if you do something like that. I'd recommend not getting on his bad side," Matty said.

"It's a bit late for that, I think. Oh man... I didn't even _mean _to step on his foot yesterday, why did he take it so _personally?" _Reagan said, digging his hands into his hair.

"You stepped on his foot, too?" Matty said.

"_Accidentally. _Like I said, I didn't mean to, there was just so many people..."

"Okay, here's another suggestion then," Matty said.

"What?"

"Avoid him. Like the _plague," _Matty said, with careful emphasis on the last word. "Understand? Like the _plague."_

"That doesn't seem likely," Reagan replied.

"It's a big castle, how would you run into him?"

"Well, it's not like I ran into him just now... he approached _me_, not the other way around." Making a gesture for reversing with his fingers.

"... Right. Didn't take that into account."

"... Maybe you should just ignore him if he tries to bother you again," Connor suddenly piped up, after remaining silent the whole time.

"That's actually not that bad of an idea..." Matty mused.

"Alright then, I'll just... ignore him. That should do it. If I don't listen then he can't do anythin'," Reagan said, then looked at Connor. "Ehm... good idea, Connor."

"No problem," Connor replied with a small smile.

"We should probably get to class 'fore we're late, not sure if Mcmillian's gonna favor us just because we're in his house," Lukas said, and the boys all set off for their Defense Against The Dark Arts class.

…...

"Good afternoon, class," Professor Mcmillian said to the class of Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, watching as a few of the students (including Reagan and Connor) went for their quills and parchment. "We won't be needing those just yet. Put those away for now." And the students put them away, looking fairly perplexed. "We'll be doing a fair amount of _hands on _in this class. That is, more doing than writing."

The students went from perplexed to excitedly attentive just like that. Mcmillian smiled. "That doesn't mean we _won't _be writing at all, of course, but that this class is more based on experience and having you properly prepared to handle a dangerous situation should it arise. We will start with a demonstration, then a small lecture, and you all take notes. In some cases, I will ask you to practice, but only in the case of self-defense against something non-human."

The students all looked rather pleased at the way things were being run in this class already. "We are going to start out with the Curse of The Bogies, which to do it, you must recite the incantation _Mucus ad Nauseam. _Repeat after me. _Mucus ad Nauseam._"

"Mucus ad Nauseam," The students all chanted.

"Very good, very good. For the demonstration, I have got your Transfiguration teacher, Mr. Hilliard, to agree to volunteer," Mcmillian gestured over to Hilliard with his wand, who waved half-heartedly and gave Mcmillian a look that said 'If anything goes wrong, I'll throttle you'. Mcmillian seemed to ignore this look altogether. "Mr. Hilliard, if you will please face me."

"I still don't like this, Ernie," He said, facing him and holding his wand up to hold up the guise of putting up a fight.

"Not to worry, Jeremiah, no harm will come of you!" Mcmillian said cheerily, which worried the students quite a bit. "Mucus ad Nauseam!" He said with gusto, flourishing his wand and pointing at the other man.

Hilliard's nose immediately started running with snot. The students all either laughed or made noises of disgust. Along with the runny nose, the color seemed to drain from the man's face and he looked rather sickly. "Ah-ah-ACHOO!" The man sneezed rather loudly, but thankfully none of the students got caught in the crossfire.

"As you all can see, the Curse of the Bogies gives you a cold which—if not treated—will be terrible enough to leave you sick for weeks. It also, as the name tells, gives you a particularly bad case of the bogies," Mcmillian said, looking over at Hilliard, who was now blowing his nose. "Mr. Hilliard will be just fine, though, I assure you." Hilliard took this as his cue to leave the room, glaring at the other man.

Half of the students wore a look of pity for the man, whole the other half was snickering and smirking at the whole thing, probably scheming who they'd use the hex on when they had the chance.

"Blimey, a curse that gives you a sick day? I don't think I'd go out of my way to dodge _that," _Connor said, eyebrows raised high and seeming very impressed.

"Makes you _really_ sick though. One of my cousins was practicing that curse once, auntie really pitched into 'im when he got his little sister so sick they had to go to St. Mungo's," Lukas replied, arms crossed over his desk.

"Yeah, it'd be better to go with a skivving snackbox instead," Teddy said, leaning back in his chair so far that it was in danger of tipping over.

"Guys, be quiet...!" Reagan hissed, looking back from the door Mr. Hilliard just left to the other boys.

"Boys, is there something you would like to share with the class?" Mr. Mcmillian questioned, eyes on the boys as he strolled past them.

"They were discussing the use of the curse, sir," Matty said, finally piping up.

"Very well, then. If you would leave discussion until _after _class, I'd like to finish the lecture," Mr. Mcmillian said, now addressing the five boys instead of the four who were talking.

"Yes, sir," The boys said in unison. Matty only nodded.

"Good. So," He began strolling away from them, back to the front of the room. "I will not be having you practice this curse, as accidents are bound to happen and I'm sure none of you would like to miss out on your first week," He ignored the collective groan of the students. "I know, I know... it's very disappointing, but it's just policy. I promise you will get to do some wandwork eventually, though. For now, though, quills and parchment out."

The class set to work taking notes on Professor Mcmillian's lecture of the Curse of the Bogies, and then they were dismissed.

"Poor Professor Hilliard!" A third-year Gryffindor girl exclaimed to her friend as they were walking the hallway in the opposite direction of the Hufflepuff first-years. "I heard that he collapsed in the hallway nearby the infirmary! Gladys said that he looked absolutely dreadful, I wonder what happened to the poor thing?"

"Oh no, did you hear that?" Reagan asked once the girl and her friend were out of range.

"Gladys is judgmental?" Matty asked back with a smirk.

Reagan gave him a sharp look. "No, Professor Hilliard got hurt! What if it was the Curse of the Bogies that Mr. Mcmillian did?"

"That _is _probably what it was..." Lukas said. "Poor bloke didn't seem too thrilled to be a guinea pig. I know I wouldn't."

"Guess we could visit him after Flying lessons," Teddy interjected, scratching his head.

"You lot go ahead then," Matty said with a shrug. "There's no reason for dozens of people to go, anyway."

"I'm going to finish unpacking, I didn't finish it last night," Connor said sheepishly.

"'Right then, it's settled. Lukas, Teddy and I are visiting the infirmary after class," Reagan said.

…...

So the five boys followed the rest of the Hufflepuffs, as well as the Gryffindors, to the Quidditch pitch for flying lessons. Although the first-years were not allowed a broom for themselves, they were still able to take broom-flying classes so those who didn't know how to fly already would be able to get acclimated to it.

"Oh man, this is going to be so _cool!" _Ashley Crosby exclaimed, bouncing along with the other first-years on their way to the pitch. "I already know how to fly, but I only ever flew on those toy brooms. I can't wait to get up in the air on a real racing broom! What kind do you figure they got, Morg?"

Morgan gave a shrug. "Dunno, I don't think they've got anything all that extraordinary since there's so many kids here. I'm not sure they're racing brooms, either."

"You mean we're flying on _broomsticks? _You actually do that?" Connor asked, eyebrow raised high.

"Of course! What other way is there to fly?" Ashley stated.

"He could've heard about the flying car, Ash, that's probably why he's confused," Morgan said to his friend.

Connor's eyebrows raised so high they were in danger of disappearing into his hair. "Flying car?!" He exclaimed.

Ashley and Morgan exchanged glances with each other, both of them with eyebrows raised as well. "Y'aint heard of the flying Ford Anglia story?" Morgan asked.

"No..." Connor said, brows furrowed.

"Well, it was in '92, back in Harry Potter's second year-" Ashley started.

"You can tell him about Harry Potter's exploits _later, _Mr. Crosby," said Madam Hooch, the Flying instructor, as the first-years gathered around the Quidditch pitch. "Afternoon, all. I'm sure you must be very excited to get up in the air."

There was some assorted murmurs of excitement from all the students.

"Very well then, all of you go over to the spot where there are brooms placed on the ground. No shoving_, please, _Mr. Nash. Stand right beside your brooms when you find a spot."

All the students scrambled over to a spot and stood there, while Reagan was still searching for a spot.

"Over there, Mr. Hammond," Madame Hooch said, pointing over to a spot next to Nathaniel Asher, who was jabbing Aiden Alberts in the rib with his elbow for laughing at Reagan.

"Now. I want you to stick your right hand out in front of you, like so," She explained, sticking her right arm out with her hand facing the broom. "And then say, _UP. _With feeling. _UP." _The broom did as she commanded, and raised into her right hand.

"UP!" The students all chanted at once, raising their right arms in front of them. Each of the students had varying success. Reagan's would lift off the ground by an inch and then fall back down as if magnetized; while Teddy's was in his hand on the first try. Nathaniel's took a couple tries to get off the ground; while Aiden's broomstick flew up and hit him in the nose. Lukas's was also in his hand at once; while Holly's was stubbornly sticking to the ground and leaving her to chant: "UP! UP! UP!" while getting dangerously red in the face. Ashley and Morgan's got up easily; while Connor's wasn't at all, prompting Matty to give him an earful about 'not saying it with enough feeling'.

"Ugh, you need to be _clearer! _You're _mumbling! _You aren't going to get it off the ground that way, you bloomin' idiot!" Matty shouted to him.

"Mr. Autberry, that is _enough! _It is _my _job to instruct, 5 points from Hufflepuff!"

"_What—_but... Madam Hooch, I was just just helping him!"

"Helping him into a mental breakdown, maybe, Con looks like he's about to start crying."

"Shut up, Teddy!" Connor shouted, getting red in the face.

"No buts, Mr. Autberry! And Mr. Lupin, don't you whip them up. If you three will _please _let me go on with my lesson, that would be much appreciated."

The three boys looked ashamed. "Yes, Madam Hooch..."

"Good. Keep at it, Mr. Bailey. And Mr. Autberry, please keep your comments to yourself,"

Matty nodded quietly, and Connor went back to chanting 'Up, UP!', this time more fervently than before.

After 10 more minutes of the children demanding their brooms to come up, everyone finally had them in their hands.

"Very good, all of you. Remember, this is your first time, so patience and persistence is key. Now, I want all of you to mount your brooms, not unlike you would mount a horse. Swing your leg over the side of the broom, grip the broom tightly so as to not slip off," She held up her whistle. "And when I blow my whistle, kick off the ground, hover for a few moments and come back down."

The students did as Madam Hooch instructed, and waited for her whistle. "_Good, _Very good, and now," She raised the whistle to her lips and blew it.

The students kicked off hard on the ground to get up into the air, but some of them were having trouble, including Aiden and Reagan. Aiden's broom didn't seem to want to leave the ground, but Reagan's problem was just the opposite; while it was hovering in the air, it was higher than the others, and his broom didn't want to be stationary.

"Uhm... is it supposed to be this high?" Reagan called down to Madam Hooch nervously.

"It's a bit too high, Mr. Hammond, if you could guide it back toward the ground by pointing the end downward, that would fix it," Hooch instructed.

Reagan pointed his broom toward the ground, but the broom decided to take Reagan in an entirely different direction. It _did _go toward the ground, but at the last minute when Reagan would _just _be able to touch ground with his feet, the broom swept high into the air again and zoomed away from the Quidditch Field where they were practicing. "_Mr. Hammond! I said to GUIDE IT BACK DOWN! COME BACK THIS INSTANT!" _

The broom was now much higher than it was before, and going far faster despite how Reagan was trying to pull back like he'd seen his cousin do to get the broom to slow down. His arms were wrapped around the broom as if his life depended on it. "I _can't! I can't get it to go down!" _He hollered past the wind.

"All of you," Hooch addressed the rest of the class. "_Stay here on the ground. _I'm helping Hammond back onto the ground." She mounted her broom and went after Reagan, who was now getting close to crashing into one of the bridges that led to the castle. "Mr. Hammond! Point the nose of the broom _downward! _You are going to crash!_" _She shouted to him.

"_I'm trying to! The broom isn't going where I'm guiding it!" _Reagan shouted, trying desperately to get the broom to go downward. The broom still flew forward and was now coming in very near to the wall of the bridge. Reagan could do nothing more than close his eyes and wait for the impact.

**A/N: WOWZERS. I didn't mean for this to take so long but you know... classes. I promise I haven't been dilly-dallying with this. I ****_have _****been working on it. I just ran into a few bumps. Sorry I left the chapter at quite a bit of a cliffhanger, but I promise I'm still working at this one.**


	7. Revelation

"_Shh, shhhhhh, he's waking up!_" Reagan could hear some voice saying somewhere far away. He opened his eyes to see Gryffindors Morgan and Ashley, as well as Teddy, Lukas, Connor and the Hufflepuff prefect, Killian.

"You alright, Hammond? I heard you had a nasty run-in with a wall," Killian inquired.

"I don't... know... where am I? What happened?" Reagan asked, sitting up a little bit in the cot he was tucked into, looking at his surroundings.

"Hospital wing. Your broom... it was malfunctioning something terrible. Apparently Madam Hooch caught you just in time before you fell after hitting the bridge." Morgan said.

"I _fell? _I know I hit the bridge, but everything went dark afterward."

"Yeah, Will said that he saw Madam Hooch swooping right past and picking you up. Said it was one of the coolest things he saw." Lukas said.

"Well, I'm glad he enjoyed the show..." Reagan said, rubbing his head. "Where's Matt?"

"Here," Matty said, walking in with Shea and Siobhan jogging in behind him. "Hooch told me to go get your cousins."

Siobhan immediately went up to Reagan's bedside. "Reagan! Oh my goodness, are you alright? How on _earth _did you crash into a _bridge? _And the _drop _is ludicrously high! Were you _even _paying attention?"

"I _was! _The broom wasn't going where I wanted it to go!"

"Did you pull back like I showed you?" Shea asked.

"I did, it just kept going faster!"

Shea's eyebrows raised. "Really? That's weird. You're _absolutely _sure you leaned back?"

"I know backward from forward. The broom went up in the air when I tried to make it go down, too."

"How peculiar... Hogwarts brooms haven't been _that _temperamental before..." Siobhan mused.

"Unless they've been tampered with, of course," Shea said. "Was the broom acting up the whole time you were down there?"

"Err... not exactly. It was pretty much fine up until I got on."

"Someone could'a hexed it," Ashley said.

"Nobody's learned hexes yet, it's only the first day," Morgan replied.

"He's got a point, though," Shea said, then looking to Reagan. "Ray, do you remember seeing anyone who probably shouldn't have been there?"

"Uh... just a Slytherin third-year," Reagan replied.

"Wait... was he the one that was following that prat Kyle around during lunch?" Teddy asked.

Reagan furrowed his brows. "I... I think he was one of them, yes."

"It was him! _He _did it!" Teddy exclaimed. "I saw him pointing a wand at you! That no-good toerag sent someone to do his dirty work!"

"Whoa, _whoa! Hey! _Don't jump to conclusions so fast!" Siobhan said. "And just who is Kyle?" She asked, looking toward Reagan.

"He's one of the Slytherin first years... I accidentally stepped on his foot on the train yesterday, and I got him pretty mad at me," Reagan said.

"But you said earlier that everything was _fine, _Reagan, you didn't tell me there was someone bothering you," Siobhan said.

"I thought I _was _fine, I thought that he'd just forget about it!"

"You said his name was Kyle... it's not Kyle _Arthur, _is it?" Shea asked.

"It was... why, is he dangerous?" Reagan asked.

Shea's eyebrows shot up. "Reagan, are you _kidding _me? I _just _got his sister to stop going after Siobhan, now you've gone an' made an enemy out of one of those Arthurs? Do you know what that family does to families like ours?"

"I didn't do anything to make him an enemy! I stepped on his foot accidentally, but I apologized! And _he _was teasing _me, _not the other way around!" Reagan shouted.

"Reagan, stop shouting and lay back down," Siobhan said. "You shouldn't over-exert yourself with your head banged up like that. Seamus, quit putting the idea in his head that someone is out to get him. They _aren't. _Even if they were, Mcgonagall wouldn't let him get hurt."

"But she _did, _someone hexed his broom!"

"You don't know that, Shea! You weren't _there. _For all we know it could have been a faulty broom problem!"

Madam Pomfrey came in just then, silencing the twins. "I have to ask you both to leave, you're being far too loud and upsetting the other patients," She said, looking to Reagan. "They can come back once they learn to be quieter."

Siobhan looked angry, but walked out without another word. Shea walked out behind. "See yeh, Ray. I'll check up on you around dinner time. Alright?"

"Alright..." Reagan said, laying back down.

"We'll see you tomorrow, Reagan," Ashley said, nearing the door.

"Yeah, sorry you crashed you broom, Reagan," Morgan said, following Ashley out.

"Bye..."

"Well, least you can talk to Hilliard now, like you wanted to," Teddy said, gesturing over to the man, who Reagan guessed was the patient who complained about his cousin's noise.

"I guess I could... if Madam Pomfrey says its alright," Reagan replied. "I'm not sure if I'm allowed to get out of bed. ...How long do I have to stay here, anyway?"

"Oh, it wasn't a big deal, so she'll probably just keep you overnight and let you out in the morning," Lukas said. "Or let you out early, I'm not sure. You should ask her."

"Suppose I should... I'm just glad that Flying was the last lesson and I'm not missing anything," Reagan said.

"Except dinner... Oh man, I'd hate to miss out on dinner. I hope they feed you up here!"

"I'm sure they do, Lukas, it'd be cruel if they didn't," Connor said.

"Yeah, you're right... I think we should get going, let Ray rest for a while," Lukas said, addressing Matty, Connor and Teddy, then heading toward the door. "Hope you feel better after some rest!"

"Sounds like a plan," Teddy said, then turning to Reagan. "Hope your head feels better tomorrow, Ray." He then followed Lukas out.

"Yeah, it'd be awful if you were out during the first week," Connor said, leaving the room after him.

"See you tomorrow," Matty said, following behind.

Soon after the boys left, Reagan gladly drifted off to sleep, seeing nothing else that he could do. He was awoken three hours later by the loud sound of someone blowing their nose. He bolted up and looked around the infirmary for the noise, and saw that it was Professor Hilliard, laying two beds away.

Hilliard noticed Reagan looking at him. "Sorry," He said, nose still stuffed up despite blowing his nose so hard.

"No, it's okay," Reagan said, rubbing his eyes. "I probably shouldn't have slept for so long."

"Hows your head?" Hilliard asked with a sniffle. "Heard you hit it pretty hard."

"Oh... it's feeling loads better, now that I slept a little. What happened to you? I overheard some people saying that you fell on the way here."

"Er..." Hilliard scratched his head. "Collapsed, actually. I was heading down one of the last couple steps, and I felt so weak that I just... dropped. When I woke up, I was in here, me head was hurting and they had my leg all bandaged up," He said, patting said leg. "I reckon they have to get a replacement for me."

"Is Madam Pomfrey really strict about activity? 'Cause at my muggle primary school, I remember that sometimes there would be teachers that came in and taught despite that they were sick or had a broken leg."

Hilliard smiled and shook his head. "Muggle school teachers are crazy when it comes to getting their paycheck, I remember that clearly," He said. "But yes, Madam Pomfrey is quite strict about when people should be out and about. My fifth year I got sent to the infirmary with a slight stomach flu, and she nearly had me head because I was going to go outside for some air."

"Gosh... she won't keep me in here for a long time, won't she?"

"Oh, no, I don't believe she will. Not for a small concussion. Think she'll let you out by tomorrow morning."

"Oh, okay. That's good. 'Cause I don't want to end up missing out on the whole first week."

Hilliard smiled a little bitterly. "You and me both, kid. Sadly, I haven't got much of a choice."

"What was up with you and Mcmillian? How come you let him just hex you?"

"No point in arguing with Ernie, he makes a bug deal out of a whole lot of nothing, so if 'd argued during a moment that was important to him, it'd just make it worse for myself."

"It still turned out pretty bad, though."

"I've had worse things happen to me," Hilliard said quite vaguely, and Reagan couldn't help himself from asking the question that was burning on every Hogwarts students' minds.

"Is it true what they say about you?"

Hilliard sighed and rubbed his face. It was quite certain he knew about the rumors that the students spread about him. "Which ones did you hear?"

"Err... that you ran away from an orphanage when you were 9, and... that you were... well, a werewolf."

Hilliard nodded, a painful look on his face. "You'd think those kinds of rumors would stop after I became a professor," He said.

Reagan's eyebrows raised. "You mean... you've heard them for a long time?" He asked.

"Well, I was the main source of rumors for a while, up until Harry Potter's stunt in the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Then I was left alone for a while," He said, shaking his head. "Have to admit, I felt a little bad that he was getting all these rumors spread about him, but I'm glad that they stopped hounding me for a while."

"So... _is _it true?" Reagan asked.

"Oh, err... it's true that I ran away," Hilliard said, then came to a pause. Reagan was eager to hear. "I am not a werewolf, though. Wolf animagus, yes, but not a werewolf. They gave up hiring werewolves after Remus Lupin in '93, it's far too risky, even _with _the Wolfsbane potion."

Reagan caught the mention of a 'Remus Lupin', and he found the name oddly familiar. Of course, he'd heard the name before, he was one of the many people who died in the Battle of Hogwarts, but it was his last name in particular that he found interesting. _Lupin. _Reagan shared a room with a Lupin already, and this Lupin was acting particularly dodgy (like himself) about the mention of parents, when he and the other boys spent half the night staying up and talking instead of sleeping.

And Lupin wasn't exactly a _Jones _or _Smith _type of name, who you could know plenty of and a majority of the time none of them would be related. No, when you knew a Lupin, much like knowing a Weasley, or a Longbottom, the only people you'd be likely to meet with the same last name is people who are related to them.

Now suddenly, Reagan knew why Teddy was so dodgy about the subject of parents; He didn't have any, just like him.

The next day, Reagan was feeling as good as new. After his talk with Professor Hilliard, which he continued for at least another half hour or so; Reagan felt like he'd gotten a lot of his questions answered. They continued talking about Animaguses; how Mr. Hilliard had been studying for years under Professor McGonagall to learn how to do it, and how thrilled he was when he received the letter from his former favorite teacher (now the headmaster), saying that she was 'passing the torch' onto him, and he got the job with only a brief interview. It occurred to Reagan hours later how upset he must be to have to give up his post for a while.

Reagan then confessed to Professor Hilliard that he taught Connor how to levitate the feather; Professor Hilliard said that he already knew, but Reagan was glad just to get the weight off his chest.

Madam Pomfrey gave Reagan the all clear at 7:45 in the morning. Reagan got up, bade Professor Hilliard farewell, then sped off to his room quickly to get ready for his first class of the day, Potions. When he went down to the Hufflepuff dormitories, the only boys there were Teddy, and Killian, who was waiting impatiently for him. The other prefect took the rest of the first-years over to the Potions classroom, but Teddy was late as he slightly overslept.

"Oi, you feeling better, Hammond?" Killian asked when Reagan came in and went to his dresser to get his uniform on.

"Yeah, loads better. Thanks," Reagan said, buttoning up his shirt.

"I'm going to go get my bag. Don't dawdle, Lupin. _You're not showing up late to Potions._" Killian said, looking to Teddy, who was leaning down to tie his shoes. He then turned to go get his bag from the fifth-year dormitories.

"I'm not _dawdling, _you are," He muttered once Killian was out of range. A silence fell over the room as Reagan continued to dress himself and Teddy set to making his hair messier than it already was. After a minute, Teddy spoke up. "So... did you get to talk to Professor Hilliard?"

Reagan looked up from tying his shoes. "Hmm? Oh... yeah, I did. We talked for a while, actually... He said he's gonna be in there for a while and we're getting a replacement..." He said, trailing off. He had remembered his train of thought from the previous night, and now he was going to ask about his suspicion. "Hey Ted?"

"Yeah?" Teddy replied, not looking away from the mirror where he was mussing up his hair.

How come you didn't tell us that Remus Lupin was your dad?" Reagan asked, and Teddy immediately stopped what he was doing, wide-eyed.

"How do you-"

"Professor Hilliard was talking about him, and I noticed the last name. Why didn't you say anything about them? Your parents?"

"I... didn't think it was important. Besides, it's not like you were gabbing about _your _parents."

"Well... no, but I don't really know much about them. I know a tiny bit about me mum, but she was a really private person. I told you guys about me other family too, but you didn't really talk about any of yours."

"If you knew about my family I thought you'd just keep being friends with me because you wanted to meet Harry Potter or something." Teddy said, furrowing his brows. "I didn't want to make friends that way." The statement brought to mind Kyle Arthur, who frequently boasted about his families status.

"And you wouldn't have," Reagan said. Teddy looked over at him. "We were just talking, trying to get to know each other. We're all still hanging around you and _they _don't know about them. Doesn't have anything to do with who your family is, we just like _you."_

"... Really?" Teddy asked. His normally dark brown hair turned a bright pink color. Teddy didn't seem the type to be caught off-guard by a statement like that, as he had a natural confidence; but he was clearly very embarrassed.

"Yeah," Reagan said, taken aback by the reaction. "You're cool, why wouldn't someone want to be friends with you?"

Teddy's eyes widened. "You think I'm... _cool?" _He asked. Reagan didn't know it, but Teddy almost never got to hang out with kids his own age. There were few kids living in Godric's Hollow, and the oldest of any of them beside Teddy was only 5 years old.

"Why do you sound so surprised? I thought you knew. You _act _like you know."

"Well... yeah... I _do _know, I just didn't know other people thought that. I mean," Teddy paused. "beside my grandma and cousins."

"Now you know, then." Reagan said.

"Boys! I _said _not to dawdle!" Killian bellowed from the common room.

"... I'm think we should head out before Killian explodes." Teddy said flatly. Reagan snorted.

"Yeah, that'd probably be best."

* * *

**A/N: HOORAY! We finally come to the first actual Reagan/Teddy moment, where they realize that they aren't all that different from each other when it come to family. They both only know bits and pieces of who their parents were. I also introduce the beginnings of a nice mentorship between Jeremiah (Professor Hilliard) and Reagan. Unfortunately ol' Jer's out of the post for a few chapters, but the replacement will have just as much of an impact on Reagan, albeit quite a negative one. I think this might be the shortest time between chapters, but I suddenly got into a fit of writing Jeremiah.  
**


	8. The Slug Club

**A/N: Kind of a filler chapter here! Here we get to know a little bit of Reagan's family, and the class hears about Teddy's family. Enjoy!**

Reagan and Teddy followed Killian to the Potions classroom, and Teddy was mildly irritated with the fact that it was not so far away that he had to be rushed in getting ready.

"Seriously, they didn't have to go so early! What were they gonna do for twenty minutes?"

"Professor Slughorn takes the ten minutes before the first class of the year to get acquainted with his students, and he does not like his students being late. _So, _I believe it is a good idea to be proactive with our time and get to class early, lest you miss out and are not in his good graces."

"How come he does it before class, why doesn't he do it in class?" Reagan asked, trying to keep up with Killian, who was speed-walking.

"Excellent question, Hammond," Killian said. "Professor Slughorn, you may or may not know, is a man with many connections. He likes to give his 'prized students' those connections in the Wizarding world. Arriving early to class to talk with him greatly helps your chances. I suppose it could be seen as his way of 'weeding out' those students who are unworthy."

"Oh..." Reagan replied with a slight droop of the shoulders. Reagan wished he could've been told this earlier.

"Don't worry, though," Killian said. "Coming to the first class early isn't the only thing that improves your chances. There is also familial connections; if you heave family that was one of his favorites, that helps, and if you show great promise in your work then he'll likely pick you up."

"Oh..." Reagan repeated as his shoulders drooped more. He wasn't sure if anyone in his family were one of Slughorn's favorites, and he _definitely _wasn't sure if he was any good at potions-making.

"All right, we're here. Please _try _to behave, Hammond. I don't want to hear of you getting in another argument with that Kyle Arthur again." Killian said as they got to the entrance of the Potions' Classroom.

"_He's _the one that's misbehaving, not me," Reagan muttered.

"Still. Don't take the bait." Killian said, waiting until they went through the door of the classroom to leave.

"Ah! There you are! We were just going around the room and introducing ourselves, so I can get all of your names straight. You two can have a seat," Slughorn said, then his eyes roved over to Holly as Reagan and Teddy sat down. "And what is your name, my dear?"

"My name's Holly Ackerman," She declared proudly, prompting an eyeroll from Lukas.

"Ah! Yes, yes... Killian's younger sister," Slughorn mused. "I was very proud to hear he made prefect. _Terribly _good student, terribly good. And you?" He asked, looking over toward one of the Slytherin's, Christian.

"Err... Christian DuBois, sir..." The dark haired boy said, trailing off at the end.

"Ahh- any relation to the DuBois woman who works in Magical Law Enforcement?"

Christian shook his head. "No, sir... I don't think so."

"Ah, that's a shame... Lovely woman, I've heard. And you boys, who just came in? I daresay you both look awful familiar."

Teddy looked over at Reagan, who shook his head to signal he didn't want to speak first. "Uh... well, I'm Teddy Lupin."

"Ah, Teddy! I knew you looked familiar. You look remarkably like your father. Terribly sorry that he's gone." Slughorn said with a somber tone, then looked to Reagan. "And you?"

"Ehm, my name's Reagan Hammond."

"Ah! Yes, I've taught a lot of Hammond's over the years. Are you any relation to Niall Hammond?" Slughorn asked.

Reagan raised his brows up high. He was honestly expecting to hear about his cousins, or one of his uncles or aunts. "Yeah, actually. He's... my brother."

"Good gracious! He was a marvelous student, one in my own house. You look a lot like him. Do you have any idea how he's getting on?"

Reagan's shoulders slunk a little and he shook his head. "No, I don't... I haven't seen him since I was really little..."

"Ah! What a shame. I'm terribly sorry, Reagan. If I ever get word of him, I will make sure to tell you."

Reagan wasn't sure if he actually wanted to hear about his brother; after all, he'd left the family on bad terms, and he didn't think that he could forgive him for doing so. He didn't necessarily want to show his displeasure either, so he just nodded, and took a seat next to Lukas.

"Niall was a Slytherin! Is that why you were defendin' 'em the other day?" Lukas whispered. "I didn't know you had a brother!"

"I don't want to talk about it, Lukas," Reagan muttered, leaning down to get his quill and parchment out of his bag.

Noticing that it was a touchy subject, Lukas left it at that.

By the end of Potions Class, it was clear which students were going to be the first of Slugworth's 'favorites' between the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins.

Holly proved to be keen at brewing, impressing Slugworth.

Teddy was absolutely appalling, which Slugworth said was a trait that he shared with his father, and he asked him to go sit with one of the Slytherins-Linette Gamble, the first favorite—so she could help him. However, this horrid display Teddy gave did not seem to lessen his opinion of him.

Connor's work was on par with Holly's, which surprised a number of people, including Connor himself.

Reagan's work was not nearly perfect like Holly or Connor's, but it was certainly more passable than Teddy's. Slughorn seemed to appreciate the effort Reagan gave.

Kyle's was about the same as Reagan's, and Teddy thought that the two boys must have had an undeclared competition.

But the most perfect display of potioneering, Slughorn said, was exhibited by Geoffrey Van Houten. And this frustrated Holly to no end.

"I mean, of _course _he'd favor him, he's a _Slytherin! _Mine was just as good as his, and he only gave me a few words! It's because I'm in a house besides his." Holly griped as they were on their way back up to the Great Hall for breakfast after class.

"I think you're overreacting a teeny bit," Lukas said. "Slughorn never favored his own house over the others."

Holly glared at him and wrinkled her nose in distaste. "What?" Lukas asked. "You know it's true."

Holly gave a loud 'Hmph!' and walked away from the group of Hufflepuffs, her nose in the air.

Lukas furrowed his brows in confusion. "She _really _needs to calm down. She got a 'wonderful execution' from Slugworth and she's actin' like it ain't good enough for her."

Teddy shrugged. "Some people are just intense about their grades. I reckon it's a side effect of being an Ackerman."

"What do you mean?"

"Killian was getting on my case for not showing up to class early."

"Oh... what was that all about, anyway? We were 20 minutes early and almost all the Slytherins were there!"

"Some sort of weird initiation, apparently Slughorn is looking for member's for his club."

"A club? That's what that was about?" Reagan asked.

"Yep. The _Slug Club. _Y'know how Kilian was talking about 'Slughorn's Favorites'? That's basically what it is; a club made up of his favorite students."

"Blimey, and he seemed really interested in both of you! Lucky," Lukas said, as he and the rest of the students crossed the doorway to the Great Hall and went to find seats.

"I wouldn't say it's exactly _lucky, _I think he only wanted me because me brother was one of his favorites..." Reagan said.

"What was up with that anyway, Ray? You seemed really hesitant to talk about him. Did somethin' happen with you two?" Lukas asked.

Reagan furrowed his brow. "He left when I was just 5. Me mum really needed him and he just _left," _Reagan said. "I'm a _wee_ bit upset about that."

"Gosh, I'm really sorry about that, mate," Lukas said. "Promise not to ask again..." He said, then taking his seat at Hufflepuff's table.

"Good," Reagan said, taking a seat beside him and helping himself to the food laid out on the table.

"But... Why _were _you defendin' the Slytherins the other day, they've been nothin' but nasty t'you!" Lukas shouted.

Reagan was mid-bite, and chewed the food in his mouth furiously. "Rukis, rrisen. I defurned thum 'curs I wurdn't warnt to be treated tha' way. I wurs trying to see the good in 'em."

"And look where that got you, that third year landed you in the hospital! I'm telling you, that lot is no good!"

Reagan gulped down some pumpkin juice to wash down his food. "What you're saying right now is _exactly _why they do that kind of thing, Lukas," He said.

"What do you mean?" Lukas asked.

"You paint 'em like they're the bad guy, so they think they gotta act like it," Teddy said. "Reagan's right, in a way. My gran said that back in her day, there were some kids that were terrified of being put in Slytherin, just because people viewed them as bad."

Reagan nodded, "And that's not what they're about, are they? The sorting hat said they're 'ambitious' and 'cunning', but they didn't say 'evil'."

"And people say that Hufflepuff's just a load of duffers, and we ain't duffers, are we?" Teddy added.

"Well... no... I suppose we aren't..." Lukas said.

"We're _not. _Like _they _aren't evil. Just kind of mean," Reagan said.

Teddy rolled his eyes. "_Kind of mean _is an understatement, Ray. They're pretty nasty. But yeah, they're not evil."

"Wurtervrr..." Lukas said, stuffing a breakfast roll in his mouth.

"Anyway..." Teddy said, before taking a bite of his eggs. "Anyone remember what class is next? I left my time table back at the dormitories."

"History of Magic," Matty said, not even looking up from the book he was reading.

"Ah, _naptime, _you mean," Teddy said.

"Wait... you don't seriously have naptime at this school, do you?" Connor asked, incredulously.

Teddy rolled his eyes once more. "No," He said. "I just mean that I've heard that class is dreadfully boring. And they've had the same teacher for the subject for like 100 years."

"What?" Connor asked.

"...He's a ghost."

Connor raised his brows. "Ghosts can be teachers?"

"A ghost is our history teacher. So yes, they can," Matty said.

"Wicked..." Connor whispered under his breath.

When at last the Hufflepuffs did go to History of Magic, Connor seemed to be the only student hanging onto every word the ghostly Professor Binns said with rapt attention, whereas almost everyone else was either distractedly taking notes like Reagan, or fallen asleep like Teddy.

Once the class was over, all of the students proceeded either to their common rooms, the library, or outside. The Hufflepuffs didn't have another class until Astronomy at midnight, so the five boys chose to sit around in the early September sun.

"Hope the skies stay clear until tonight," Reagan said as he and the other boys sat down in the grass. "It'd be a shame if it was all cloudy during Astronomy."

"It'd be a waste of time, that's what it'd be," Teddy said.

"Seems awful silly that they give us a huge space of time on the second day, but they cram everything into the first," Connor added.

"First days always really full, schedule evens out, though..." Matty said, surveying his time table.

"That reminds me! Who are they going to bring in for Transfiguration tomorrow? Ain't Professor Hilliard still in the infirmary?" Lukas asked, looking to Reagan for confirmation.

Reagan nodded. "Yeah, said he might be in there for a few weeks."

"Aww, no! Hope the replacement is patient like him, though,"Lukas said.

The boys continued to bask in the sun for another half hour, then went for a stroll along the grounds. Along the way, they found Shea, who was leaning against one of the walls of the castle and joking with his Hufflepuff friend, Kennith.

"Oi, Ray!" Shea shouted, grinning and raising a hand in greeting. Reagan returned it, and the five boys went over to meet them. "Didn't sneak out of the infirmary, did you? Or did Poppy let you out?" He asked Reagan, and Matty was shocked at how casually Shea had said the Nurse's first name.

"Yeah, Madam Pomfrey let me out this morning. Said I was healing really well, just warned that I should probably just sit out the next Flying lesson," Reagan said with a small sigh.

"I heard what happened, how did you manage to fly into a bridge?" Kennith asked.

"Ken, I told yeh, his broom got hexed. You didn't hear _that? _Come on, your the Hufflepuff, you should know."

Kennith rolled his eyes. "Sod off, you know I rarely spend time there, too busy trying to keep you and the other rejects out of trouble," Kennith said with a smirk.

"Err... what you doin' outside?" Lukas asked.

"Could say the same for you lot!" Shea bellowed at Lukas, an angry look on his face, sending Lukas to cower behind Reagan. After he did so, Shea burst out laughing and—in spite of himself, Kennith had as well.

"_Merlin, _Seamus, think you made him wet himself!" Kennith said.

Lukas pouted indignantly, blushing a bright red.

"But seriously, why are you?" Matty asked.

Shea gave a shrug. "Ain't got class until midnight. Astronomy."

"Oh! So you've got it tonight, too?" Reagan asked.

"Yeah, they're groupin' the first, second and third years tonight. Fourth, fifth and sixth are tomorrow," Shea then rolled his eyes spectacularly as he finished with a scoff, "and the _Seventh_ years get a night all to themselves."

"Oh, I didn't know they did that kind of thing," Reagan replied.

"They didn't, 'til recently. McGonagall said there was too much of a 'divide' or whatever between younger students lately. I just think she don't trust us on our own that late at night anymore," Shea said, rolling his eyes.

"That's _your _fault for sneakin' round the woods at night like some werewolf, mate," Kennith stated.

Ashley had been walking past when he said that. "Did you just say he's a werewolf?" He asked.

"Get _lost, _Crosby!" Shea shouted, and the first-year Gryffindor scurried off. Shea rolled his eyes. "Little weirdo's been followin' me since I got off the the train. Aaaanyway, yeah, that _may have _been my fault?"

"Is Astronomy hard?" Reagan asked.

Shea gave a shrug. "Not really, 'least in my opinion. If yeh know what your lookin' for, then it's a snap," Shea said, snapping his fingers.

"What _are _you supposed to be looking for?" Lukas asked.

"Just stars an' stuff. Y'know. Constellations, planets... space stuff. Basically it's staring at the sky and drawing stars."

"Sounds like my kind of class," Teddy said, nodding.

"Careful with the co-ordinates, though, Sinistra's a toughie with grading the charts."

"Wow, you seem to know a lot about Astrology!" Lukas said.

"_Astronomy," _Shea corrected. "It _is _my best class after Care of Magical Creatures, anyway."

"Does Hagrid still teach it?" Teddy asked.

"Yeh, Hagrid still teaches it," Shea said. "He's a real riot. You know 'im?"

"Yeah, my godfather is good friends with him, he went to school when Hagrid first got the job," Teddy replied.

"Oh yeh? Didn't think anyone really liked him mas a teacher, unless your godfather's, like... Harry Potter, or something," Shea said.

"He is," Teddy said with a smirk.

Shea's eyebrows raised. "For _real? _So you must be Teddy Lupin! I'd heard that you were starting this year, but I didn't think you'd end up in Hufflepuff! How in th'hell did you end up with the badgers?"

Teddy shrugged. "Apparently mum was a badger, that might have something to do with it. The hat said I was more like her than my father, he was a Gryffindor."

"Huh. Well, how 'bout that. Nearly everyone was betting Gryffindor from what I know," Shea said.

Teddy shrugged. "Yeah, everyone in my family was. 'Cept grandmum, she was betting Slytherin. I don't mind Hufflepuff, though, it's right by the kitchens, apparently."

"Speaking of the kitchens... ain't it going to be dinner soon? I'm _starving," _Lukas said.

"You _always _are. No idea how, you eat Professor Hagrid's weight in food," Matty said.

"Oi! Don't go insulting Hagrid like that!" Shea shouted.

"I think dinner _is _starting soon, we should head back up to the castle," Reagan said quickly, grabbing Matty's arm, wanting to get away before Matty made Shea angrier.

Matty rolled his eyes and jerked his arm out of Reagan's grip. "Fine. But _don't touch me," _He said, and started tromping up the hill.

Reagan and the other boys followed behind him, and the Hall was somewhat quieter than it had been that morning, save for Ashley who was chattering to his very reluctant listener, Morgan. Reagan was watching them, couldn't make out exactly what he was saying over the din of other people having conversations. Ashley seemed to be getting quite heated up about whatever it was, though, as if Morgan was quietly arguing with him. Reagan was pulled away from his daze when Lukas waved a hand in front of his face.

"Hellooooo? Earth to Ray? What _are _you staring at?" He asked.

Morgan got up and left, possibly fed up with trying to reason with his friend about whatever they were fighting about. Reagan looked back over to Lukas. "Oh, uh... nothing."


End file.
